Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) discounts and (c) fee waivers from lane rental schemes are available for joint works; and what definition his Department uses for joint works.

The Department announced in February 2018 that it would develop bidding guidance later this year for authorities that want to set up lane rental schemes. It also announced that approval will be subject to certain conditions. These include that authorities must have a well-run permit scheme in place; schemes would apply to an authorities’ own works; charges should be used to encourage certain behaviour e.g. more joint works; and schemes should be trialled for a period of time. Finally, it would like to see authorities put in place caps for some major works so that these are not unfairly penalised.

The relevant legislation allows local authorities to charge up to £2,500 per day on the busiest roads at the busiest times. Authorities can offer discounts and waive charges in certain circumstances.